According to Professor Jonathan Jansen, distinguished professor in the faculty of education at SU, and former vice-chancellor of the University of the Free State, there is "now enough research and common sense in circulation to indicate that the rankings are a waste of valuable academic time and a drag on the resources of already struggling universities. It is small wonder that major Ivies have dumped the rankings.
"Rankings measure, first of all, what rankers think a good university is all about and, by their own criteria, much is left out in what counts in, for example, a development university in developing contexts.
"I believe that African universities, for example, should completely ignore these rankings and get on with the kind of teaching, research and public service that counts in their particular national and regional contexts," Jansen said.
His views align with the 'ranking scepticism' that has been reflected in the Hamburg Declaration by university leaders, including vice-chancellors from Africa, following a 14-16 June meeting in Hamburg, Germany, in which they say, among other comments, that they are concerned about "current global university rankings [that] often result in an unhealthy use of competition that reproduces and reinforces social inequities and global science inequalities".
https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20230621193949553
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